{going back}

We are going back.  We just got back, but we are going back, too.  Going back implies a homecoming.  Or home-going.  Whenever you leave somewhere, you say, "I'm going back."  The back home is implied.

When you have two homes, you are always going back.  Which is strange, because you can't go back when you just got back.  But going back is not just a verb, but a noun.

Back is really home.  And home is really being surrounded by love and joy.  And our kids are home to us, as much as any other place on the planet.

We have been back for about 9 months.  We never wrote a final blog post, or talked much about saying goodbye to the kids.  Because it was devastatingly hard.  And it is still hard to be away from them.

But the good news is, we are going back!  We will be in Romania for the month of July, helping with summer camps, just like old times. We will be working in the orphanages where we used to teach our reading classes, youth group, character education, and played a million hours of soccer.

People ask us all the time, "What was it like?  Did you like it there?"  Little questions can elicit big answers.  So normally, I give the standard two sentence answer, "It was an amazing experience.  Very challenging and rewarding at the same time."  But truthfully, it wasn't an experience at all, it was my whole life.  And it's really difficult to assault the questioner with, "It was the most devastating and beautiful time of my life.  I saw huge injustices and amazing triumphs.  I yelled at God and I cried a lot.  I got a million hugs from kids that call me mom.  I was powerless and powerful at the same time. I was blessed, and I was changed."

It gets awkward if I respond like that...

So,  for those who are still reading, and are interested in learning about the plight of abandoned children in Romania, we will be posting some new blogs as we prepare to go back.  We will share our hearts, and more adorable smiles!

{haley}